


finding a family

by KollaneAuto, LilacsAndLilies



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Co-Written, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Families of Choice, Family Fluff, Future Fic, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Minor Injuries, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Panic Attacks, Peter Parker Acting as Miles Morales' Parental Figure, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:00:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24389299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KollaneAuto/pseuds/KollaneAuto, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilacsAndLilies/pseuds/LilacsAndLilies
Summary: One minute, Miles and Peter are on patrol, the next, Peter is talking Miles through a panic attack. Peter doesn't know what's going to happen next but he does know this: he won't let anyone hurt Miles again.
Relationships: Harley Keener & Miles Morales, Harley Keener/Peter Parker, Miles Morales & Peter Parker
Comments: 10
Kudos: 190





	1. Chapter 1

Peter knew this was a bad idea. Why did he think that letting a child run around in a onsie was a good idea? Is this how Tony felt?

“Get out of here Webs!” Peter shouted to his young mentee.

The spiders patrolled together every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Today was Friday and they were stopping a robbery in Queens. But something was wrong with the kid. He was sloppy, missing the robbers, getting hit. _He's going to get seriously hurt if he keeps going,_ Peter thought as he dodged a fist.

“No! I’m okay!” Webs choked out. He was being nothing but stubborn.

“You clearly aren't. Get out of here. I'll finish up and then come find you.” Peter tried his best to get the kid away from the fight.

“No, I’m fine." the younger boy fought back. 

_“Go!”_ this time it was an order not a request, so Webs ran.

It took Peter a few minutes to web up all the robbers and make sure that everyone was safe. He found Webs curled up on a rooftop nearby. The kid wasn't fine. Peter started to understand why Tony had so many gray hairs. He ran towards the kid to find him shaking. Peter was pretty sure he heard crying.

“Hey, Webs. what's wrong?” Spider-Man asked as he dropped down next to the smaller spider. _Okay, so no loud noises_ , Peter thought when he saw the kid flinch. _Probably sensory overload._

“You need to breathe or you'll pass out kiddo.” Peter said softly.

“I can't. I can't. Please, I don't want to go back there. Please don't make me go back. Please. Please.” the kid begged between sobs.

Peter filled away the kid's words for later. “Hey I’m taking your mask off so you can breathe better” Peter told the smaller boy as he gently peeled the mask off and tossed it aside. Peter had known that the kid was young, but this young? He couldn't be older than 14. The man wondered if he was doing the right thing by mentoring the kid. But then again, Peter knew first hand that a lack of mentor would not stop him from trying to help. He couldn’t help thinking back to when he was 15 and fought Toomes without Tony’s help. God this kid was too much like him.

“I can't. I don't. Please!” Webs’ sobs stopped Peter's train of thought. _Focus, Peter, you can panic later_ , the spider thought to himself.

“Shh. you don't have to go anywhere. Just breath. Try to match your breathing with mine.” Peter tried to comfort the crying kid as he gathered him in his arms.

“In and out. That's it. Just keep breathing. You're doing great kiddo. Just like that.” It went on like that for a while. Peter whispering soft encouragements into his ear while rocking them back and forth on a dirty rooftop in Queens. Eventually his breathing calmed and the kid fell asleep, feeling safe for the first time since his parents died.

“I hope Harley doesn't hate me too much for this.” Peter said to himself as he stood up with the sleeping kid in his arms and started to swing back to their home in Manhattan.


	2. Chapter 2

Peter liked to think that he knew his fiance pretty well. He and Harley started dating a few months after Tony introduced them 8 years ago. Peter could honestly say that those 8 years were the best years of his life, filled with exploding labs, late night talks and lots of love. Lately galas and charity events have been making their way into the boys lives. After all, they were taking over Stark Industries. 

So yes, Peter liked to think that he knew Harley pretty well, and one of the first things Peter noticed about the blond boy was that he was rarely speechless. Harley always had a snarky comeback or a witty comment ready to go. But seeing his fiance come into their floor in the Stark tower with another kid in his arms must have done the trick, because the southern boy didn't have any words.

“I’ll put him to bed then we can talk.” Peter whispered to Harley and made his way towards one of the many guest bedrooms that their floor had.

Peter laid the kid gently on the spare bed and went to look for clothes that wouldn't be too big for him. The kid was tiny. Eventually he found some of Abbie’s clothes she had left behind after her last visit, that should fit the sleeping boy. Peter carefully took off the suit and paused for a moment. The kid was covered in small cuts and bruises, but Peter’s eyes stopped on the almost healed gash just above his hip. Peter knew that the smaller boy hadn't gotten seriously hurt on patrol recently.  _ Who could do something like this?  _ Peter thought. He quickly dressed the boy in Abbie’s clothes and went back to the living room where he saw Harley standing in the same spot he was in when Peter had left the room. 

“Come on, let's sit down.” Peter said as he grabbed the southern boy’s arm and dragged him to the couch.

“Was that the spider kid?” Harley asked, trying to stay calm.

“Yeah.” the smaller boy said sheepishly looking at his fingers, still in the Spider-Man suit, like they were the most interesting things in the room.

“Darlin please tell me you didn't kidnap the spider kid. Even Pepper couldn't drag you out of that mess.” Harley tried to joke but Peter can see that he was confused and slightly panicked.

“Calm down Harls. I didn't kidnap anyone.” Peter attempted to comfort his panicking fiance.

“Then why is he here?” Harley asked, trying his hardest to figure out what the adorable boy who was sitting next to him was thinking when he brought a kid to their home.

“Because he needed someone to go, and because I can’t just take him home?” Peter struggled to sound convincing.

“Why not?” Harley jumped up from the couch “Peter we can't just keep a random kid. He has parents! Parents that are probably looking for him!” he said, arms flailing. 

“His parents are probably abusing him Harley.” Peter sounded desperate. “He has so many bruises and I know he didn’t get all of them from patrols. He's so skinny. I just held him through a panic attack and he was begging,  _ begging Harls _ , for me to not take him back there.” The smaller boy tried to explain himself.

“Then we should take him to the foster home.” Harley’s voice spiked as he got up and began pacing back and forth in front of the couch. “We can't just keep a kid here.”

“But Harley, we can’t just take him back. Who knows if he’ll be safe.” Peter pleaded with his fiance.

Harley slowly got more agitated. “We can't take care of a child. And what are your plans for the long term? We can’t keep him forever! We don’t know the first thing about kids! We- I’ll just fuck up somewhere. I can't even take care of myself, how do you expect me to take care of a child? What if-”

“Uh- hello? Where am I?” the kid in question, who was standing in the doorway, stopped Harley mid-sentence. 


	3. Chapter 3

Peter spun around to face the kid. “Webs!”

The teen instinctively reached up to touch his mask, only to find it missing. “My mask! Where’d it go?” He looked around desperately for something to cover his face.

Harley took a deep breath, suddenly aware of his own spiraling mind. He excused himself, giving Peter space to talk alone. “Hey.” Peter took a step closer. “I’m sorry. I know you want your identity kept secret, but you were having a panic attack, and you needed to breathe.”

The teen looked at Peter, his eyes scrunched up. Peter was still in the suit and the teen recognized his voice. “Spidey?” He moved to get a closer look at Peter. “Wait, you’re Peter Parker!”

Peter smiled as he gave a mock bow. “Yup, Peter Parker, aka. Spider-Man at your service. Seemed it was only fair to let you know who I was when I saw your face without your permission.”

“That’s so cool! I can’t believe one of the heirs of Stark Industry has been mentoring me this entire time. You’re like, my hero.” He took a step back. “Uh- I’m- I’m Miles.”

Peter’s eyes grew wide. “You didn’t need to share your name.”

“Yeah but you told me yours, so it was only fair.” Miles responded shyly, repeating the words Peter had told him. 

Peter gestured towards the sofa, before sitting down. “So, Miles… mind telling me why you had a panic attack earlier today?” 

Miles froze up. “Uh- it’s nothing much. I don’t really remember.”

Peter raised an eyebrow. “You were begging me not to take you back ‘there’. Sorry if I don’t believe you.” Miles looked down at his feet, his hands folded in his lap. Peter moved closer. “Look, Miles,” He gently grabbed hold of Miles’ arm. The teen looked up at Peter, his eyes beginning to water. “I would hope that even without our identities in the open, we spent enough time out patrolling together and just being around each other that you would trust me if anything was wrong. I want to help. I know what it’s like to be freezing up and having nightmares alone and I don’t want you to have to deal with the same thing. So please, just let me help.”

“It’s stupid. Y- you’re the original Spider-Man, you’ve been doing this for like a decade now. And on top of that, you’re Peter Parker, like one of the top 5 most famous people in STEM. You’ve done a lot more and my stuff is nowhere near as big of a deal as whatever you deal with. It’s nothing I want to bother you with. I already bother you enough asking for help with Spider-Man stuff.”

“When I was your age- Wow I sound old.” Peter paused and turned to look at Miles, who started laughing softly at the interruption. Peter pretended to scowl, but his eyes lit up with happiness at getting Miles to laugh. “I remember being a teenager, trying to save everyone I could but feeling like I was never enough. I still don’t feel like enough.” Miles opened his mouth to object but Peter just pushed on. “I was 15 when I had my first panic attack. I tried to go through it myself, thought that I needed to be better and stronger or else, how could anyone trust me to save people? I was wrong. There is not a single person on this planet who doesn’t need to talk to someone and share. You can’t do this alone. If you bottle things up inside, it only hurts your ability to move on. So please, just talk to me.”

Miles didn’t look at Peter the entire time he spoke, instead focusing on his fidgeting hands. Even after Peter finished, the room was silent for a while as Miles mustered up the courage to speak. “Who did you talk to?”

“Tony Stark.” He grinned and nudged Miles, his mouth was open wide. “Can you believe that? I was a 15 year old nobody and Tony Stark comes up to me and makes me spill. Kinda the same way I’m asking you now.” Peter gave him a pointed look.

Peter could hear Miles gulp. He placed a calming hand on the teen’s shoulder. Peter could hear light breathing from the hallway, where he knew Harley was still standing. Eventually, Miles opened his mouth to speak. His voice was low but clear in the empty room. “My parents died 4 years ago in a car crash. I got sent straight to a foster house. I think my foster parents only took me in for the money. They tended to... get creative, with a bottle, or a belt, or anything else they had at hand anytime they got drunk, which was often. Most of the time they aren’t even around so it’s not too bad. It gives me time to patrol and stuff. Anything they do is mostly my fault, it’s not that big. I’ve dealt with worse on patrol. ” 

Peter’s hands slowly curled into a fist. He sat, a blank expression on his face as Miles explained everything, tears in his eyes. Peter couldn’t believe anyone would do this to a kid, especially someone as amazing as Miles. “But you shouldn’t have to. You’re a kid, no one should treat a kid so terribly. It’s absolutely not your fault either. It’s definitely a big deal and you are so strong for dealing with it and then still coming on patrol to help me stop other people from doing the same. We spent so long stopping people like your foster parents but I couldn't see that you were struggling too." Peter dropped his head into his hands. "I’m so sorry you had to deal with something like that. You are such an amazing kid and you deserve so much love and care.”

Miles tried to protest Peter’s words when Peter heard shuffling in the back. He could tell Harley had walked back into the room. Miles’ head jolted up at the noise, his protests quickly forgotten. “Is that Harley Keener?” 

Harley gave Miles a warm smile. “That’s me, Harley Keener at your service.”

“Hi.” Miles waved shyly. “I’m Miles Morales.” 

Peter looked over at Harley, silently asking him what their next move was. Harley gave him a near imperceptible nod and Peter relaxed. “Miles. It’s getting late, you should stay the night.”

Miles’ eyes grew wide. “No, I don’t want to intrude or anything.” He tried to avoid the offer but it was clear the teen wanted to stay. 

“You are not intruding. We want you to stay.” Peter pleaded. Miles stared at Peter and Harley for a few seconds, searching for the matching sincerity in their eyes before giving a small nod. “Good. We have a spare room, it’s where I set you down earlier. Why don’t you freshen up? It’s almost dinner time.”

Miles got up at the statement. He began walking towards the door before running back and hugging Peter. “Thank you.” 

Peter froze before relaxing into the hug. “Anything for my favorite spider.”

Miles practically skipped out of the room, leaving Peter and Harley alone. Peter immediately turned to Harley. “Are you ok?”

Harley let out a long breath. “I- I don’t know. The way he was talking about it, just the idea of being abandoned or abused, I- I know what that’s like. And I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through that. But I also know that being in a situation like that messes with you. And my childhood has messed me up too much to believe I could take care of someone, especially someone as vulnerable and alone as that kid.”

“Oh Harls.” Peter put his arms around Harley’s neck and pulled the taller boy down, pressing a kiss onto his forehead. “I wish I could take away those memories, take away the pain your father left you with. But you, Harley Keener, are not your father.” Peter lifted up Harley’s head to meet his bright blue eyes. “You are the most kind and amazing person I know. You took such good care of Abby and you’re an amazing brother to Morgan. I trust that you can do this, even if you don’t, because I have never met someone who wants to help more than you do. You care so much, and you could never mess up, especially not with Miles, who is an incredible kid.”

“Thanks Darlin’. I’m sorry for panicking on you.”

“You don’t need to apologize.” 

“I know, but I shouldn’t have freaked out like that. It was an overreaction. I just started to spiral and get lost in old memories and I wish I didn’t.” Harley looked down at his hands.

“It’s ok. Never get upset with yourself for surviving all the trauma the world has thrown at you. Everything I said to Miles applies to you too, and I can’t believe I’m surrounded by so many strong people.”

Harley smiled. “You make us better. God what did I do to deserve you Peter Parker?”

“More like what did I do to deserve you?” Peter grinned in response.

“I love you.”

“Love you too.” 

Harley took another deep breath. “I can’t tell you to send him away after hearing his story, so he can stay tonight. At least until we find a safe place he can stay.”

Peter nodded his head. “Ok. One day at a time. We can talk to Pepper in the morning and figure it out.”

Harley grabbed Peter’s hand. “One day at a time.”


	4. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A series of glimpses into the Parker-Keener-Morales household

Peter signed the papers naming him Miles' legal guardian with a smile on his face. The plan was to help get Miles out of his current foster home and into a safer one. In order to keep Miles and avoid rushing the process, Peter was filling out the forms to keep Miles with them for the time being. Who knew how long it would take to find another foster family?

Pepper had smiled when Peter brought it up.  _ "This is so we don't need to rush? Not for any other reason? Like maybe wanting to keep him around?"  _ Pepper always knew exactly what Peter was trying to hide. Still, whatever the reasons, Miles was his now, and Harley's by extension, and the idea put a smile on Peter’s face.

* * *

Harley had decided to spend more time bonding with Miles. This of course led to him following Peter and Miles on patrol. While he usually saved the Iron Lad suit for emergencies, the outing seemed to be just what they needed.

"Webs, duck!" Harley blasted one of the robbers out of the way, the triple team of superheroes easily besting the petty robbers. After making sure that all of the criminals were unconscious or locked up, Harley turned to Miles. "Squirt, you ok?" 

Miles rolled up his mask, taking a deep breath. "Yeah I'm fine D- Harley." His cheeks blushed red and Harley froze.

Peter just watched both of them with a smile on his face as he shook his head at their antics. He would continue to smile and laugh at their expense when Harley came up to him later and started panicking about how Miles might have called him Dad.

* * *

Peter was sitting at the dining table next to Miles as the two of them stared at his chemistry textbook. In the kitchen, Harley was prepping for dinner. 

"If you double this, then you have enough oxygen to balance the equation."

Miles nodded as he tried to copy down the steps. "Urgh, this is so hard."

Peter rolled his eyes. "Would be easier if you actually paid attention in class instead of dozing off."

"Who said I was dozing off?" Miles gave Peter an offended look. "I was lost, and I wasn't going to understand anything anyway, so I drew this instead." 

He pulled out a sheet and Peter’s mouth dropped wide open. "Miles… wow. This is amazing." He took the sheet from Miles' hand. "Harley! Come look at what our kid made." Miles paused at the word choice, but Peter didn’t even notice what he said, making Miles think he misheard something.

"What is it?" Harley came into the room, confused. His eyes grew wide as he saw the Spider-Man art in Peter's hands. He turned to face Miles. "Miles drew that?" Miles just nodded shyly. "That's incredible. Woah." Harley nudged Peter. "Our kid's got mad art skills "

There was that word again. Miles couldn't really believe what his ears were hearing, even though he wanted to. He snapped out of his thoughts at Harley’s voice. "This is going on the fridge "

Miles blushed even redder as Harley grabbed a random magnet and stuck the artwork to the fridge. It reminded him of his parents. He was surprised that the memories didn't hurt as much anymore. Instead, the three of them started their wonderful family dinner.

* * *

Miles grinned and gave Peter a giant hug as he saw the permanent guardianship forms.

"Thought it was time to stop pretending that we were still looking for foster parents." Peter smiled.

Miles just hugged Peter tighter. "Thank you, so so much."

Harley watched the two from the side, a smile on his face as he watched his fiance and the kid who was practically his son. 

"Least I could do for such an amazing kid."

* * *

Miles wouldn't be surprised if he was more nervous than the grooms. The two people Miles saw as parents were finally getting married and they trusted him to be the ring bearer. Miles knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Peter and Harley belonged together. He had seen first hand, how in love the two were. So that wasn't the cause of his stress. No, he was worried that he would lose the rings or mess up or be expected to give a speech, which he did not write or even really think about. He had seen Peter earlier that day, nervous in his own way. If the groom was nervous, it was totally normal for him to be nervous, right? He took a deep breath, trying to stop chewing on his lip and get ready instead when the music began to play. He tried to calm down and got ready to step forward. 

* * *

Peter and Harley had just gotten back from their honeymoon. It had been a great week that Miles had spent with the Tony Stark. The hero worship had mostly worn off for Peter and Harley. It was hard to hero worship someone you had seen hug a pillow while completely drunk and thinking it was a unicorn. But his quasi-parents' father figure? Was still kind of awe inspiring. And if it weren't for Peter and Harley being away, it might have been one of the best weeks of Miles' life. Even then, it ranked pretty close. 

Miles waited in the dining room with dinner as Peter and Harley unpacked and showered. Slowly, the newly married couple walked in with a folder in their hands.

"Miles." The teen perked up, confused by the sudden call. "We wanted to ask you something." The teen just nodded for them to continue. Peter continued to talk. "So I took legal guardianship of you officially, even though both me and Harls were here, because we weren't married yet and couldn't both take care of you. That's different now though, which means we can officially adopt you. So the question here is, do you want to be adopted by both of us?" Both of them say down at the table in front of Miles, matching excited but nervous looks on their faces. 

Miles was absolutely frozen in shock. "Y- you want to adopt me?" 

Harley nodded. "We've already been a family for a while, thought it was time to make it official."

Miles felt his eyes begin to water. "Of course! I would love to be adopted by both of you." He jumped out of his chair, pulling both of them into a big hug. "Thank you so much, for doing all of this for me and for being there for me."

Peter smiled, the start of tears in his eyes as well. "We will always be here for you."

Harley set the papers in front of Miles, who could not have signed them any faster. Then they all cheered as Peter set aside the folder to give to a lawyer later. "Time to celebrate."

Harley pulled out two glasses of wine and a cup of soda for Miles. The three crowded around the dining table and clicked their glasses together. "To family." Harley smiled, happy to be surrounded by his family. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Hope you all enjoyed this.
> 
> Chapter 1 & 2 are by KollaneAuto  
> Chapter 3 & the epilogue are by LilacsAndLilies


End file.
